A Long Time Coming
by SavageDischarge
Summary: Seven years after their adventures, Ash and May finally admit their feelings for each other. Rated for language and lemons in later chapters. Suck at summaries, suck significantly less at writing.
1. I Think I Love You

_**I feel like there isn't enough Advanceshipping on this site, and May is awesome, so screw the haters, in honor of the Gen 3 remake, we're going for it. **_

Ash woke up in a cold sweat. His nightmares were back. Now that he had turned 17, he couldn't stop thinking about a particular girl from the Hoenn region. More specifically, the one with the caramel-colored hair and the bandanna. Yeah, try as he might, Ash just could not forget May Maple. (**A/N: Just in case you didn't know, Maple **_**is **_**in fact May's real last name.**) Almost every time he fell asleep, he would see the object of his fantasies laughing with his bitter rival, Gary Oak, and not acknowledging his presence. He decided to call her on the videophone tomorrow, and confess.

Far away, in Petalburg City, May was having similar thoughts. She lay on her back, staring at her ceiling, thinking about the raven-haired boy she met, all those years ago. She thought she had forgotten about him, but when she saw him in Sinnoh, new feelings cropped up for her. It happened again, when she saw him in the tournament in Unova. The young Coordinator just couldn't get Ash out of her head, and it had been that way for seven whole years. Resolving to call him in the morning and talk, May turned over and went to sleep.

The next morning, Ash awoke to the sound of Pikachu laughing. "Pika!" he walked into his living room, saw May's face, and froze. He tried to duck out of the way, but it was too late. "Hi, Ash!" she yelled from the screen. He scratched the back of his head. "H-hi, May, it's actually funny you called." he said. She tilted her head. "Oh, yeah?" she asked. "Why's that?" Ash sighed. "I need to tell you something." he said. She giggled. "Me, too." she responded. Ash sat down. "Well, May, truth is, I… You know what, this is something better said in person." he said. "Hold on. I'm going to be in Petalburg by tonight." Ash said, grabbing Pikachu and running out to Professor Oak's lab.

May was disappointed. She wanted to tell Ash how she felt, but, in typical Ash fashion, he made a rash decision and rushes to Hoenn. "Hey, Max!" she yelled up the stairs. "What!" he called back. "I'm going out, tell Mom and Dad that Ash is going to be here by tonight!" she shouted, running out the door. Outside, May was met by an icy cold winter wind. She reached inside, grabbed her heavy coat and pulled it around her body. As she walked down the Petalburg road, she stopped and looked up at the sky. She started to reminisce about her adventures with Ash and Brock throughout the Hoenn gyms, Contests, the Battle Frontier, everything. She could still see him, with the wild black hair that stuck out from under his cap, his deep brown eyes, those strange little squiggles on his face. She wished he was with her.

"What? Ash, you must be joking! A Pokémon fast enough to fly to Petalburg city in the Hoenn region by tonight? That's nearly impossible!" the Pokémon Professor yelled. Ash shrugged. "Come on, Professor. Out of all the Pokémon I caught, there isn't one who could do it?" he asked. Oak thought for a second. "Well, maybe Charizard, but…" he trailed off. Ash lit up. "Thanks!" he yelled, and he ran over to the phone, called Liza, and asked for his Charizard back ASAP. "Will do, Ash." Liza said, with a wave and a smile as Charizard's Poké Ball appeared, and Ash grabbed it. Throwing it up in the air, he yelled; "Next stop, Petalburg!"

That evening, May was anxiously watching the sky, when she heard a roar, and a huge swirl of fire suddenly bloomed into light. Knowing only one guy who would do something like that, she turned and yelled out to her family. "Ash is here!" she yelled. Her family smiled. May and Max ran out, but Caroline was held back by Norman. "You know why he's here. I'm going to test him, and hopefully he'll do well, but for May, only the best." he said. Caroline nodded. "That's right dear."

Outside, Ash and Max were laughing, but May was being quiet with a slight pink blush on her face. "Um, A-Ash?" she squeaked. Ash turned. "Oh, May. Listen, I need to tell you something, but-umph!" he was cut off by May, who, unable to wait any longer, rushed forward, flung her arms around his neck, and kissed him. To say Ash was surprised would be an understatement. After realizing what was happening, he wrapped his arms around her waist, and pulled her closer. The kiss intensified, and eventually the two young Trainers separated, each with a grin on their face.

Norman saw the whole thing, but chose that moment to exit the gym and call Ash inside. May knew about her father's "talks", and was almost scared for her unofficial boyfriend. Caroline put a hand on her daughter's shoulder. "Now, sweetie, I never told you this, but your father based his routine for this on my father's, and, if Ash is truly right for you, he'll make it through." she said. May sighed. "I know, but I'm still worried." she said despondently.

Upstairs, Norman and Ash were facing each other, cross-legged, and Norman was scowling. "Now, Ash, do you promise to take care of May?" he said. "Yes." "Will you be there to support her when she needs you?" "I will." "Do you, Ash Ketchum, promise to always be courteous, kind, and loving to my daughter?" "Yes, sir!" Ash yelled. Norman nodded. "Good. Then I give you my blessing." the Gym Leader said.

_**Okay guys, thanks for reading, I know it's short, I'm going to make longer chapters, I just need to start somewhere. All reviews minus flames are welcome. **_

_**This is SavageDischarge, shutting down. **_


	2. A New Beginning

When Ash came downstairs, May was so excited, she almost dragged him up to her room, but he grabbed her hand and held it up in front of his face. "May Maple, would you like to go out on a date with me?" he asked. She gasped. "Of course I would, you idiot!" he grinned.

The two young Trainers were laughing giddily and walking through the snowy streets of Petalburg City, when they heard a small cry from an alley, and a Zigzagoon padded directly in front of them, stopped, grinned impishly, and scurried away. Suddenly, an Aggron stomped out after it, and Ash and May froze. The Aggron just smiled knowingly however, and kept chasing the impish Zigzagoon.

"Well, that was weird." May said. "Yeah, what was an Aggron doing in the middle of Petalburg?" Ash said with a puzzled look on his face, and May lightly slapped the back of his head. "Not that, you idiot!" she yelled playfully. "They clearly knew what was going on." she finished. Ash nodded. "Ah, I see."

At the restaurant, May and Ash sat down and ordered a plate of spicy spaghetti with Tamato Berry sauce. The waiter nodded and walked away. "So, May, what have you been doing all these years?" Ash asked, in an attempt to break the awkwardness of being on their first date. "Nothing much, I started tutoring new Coordinators, but I haven't been doing that very long. How about you?" she finished with the question. Ash shrugged. "I recently went and officially challenged the Elite Four in Kanto." he said as their spaghetti arrived.

As they ate, Ash and May began to talk about what they planned to do now, and eventually, they came to the conclusion that Ash was going to travel through Hoenn again, and May was going to accompany him, but Max couldn't go this time, he was being groomed to take over the gym, but the couple had no problem with being alone together.

Just as they were finishing up, they soon discovered that they had begun eating the same strand of spaghetti (cliché I know, but just roll with me here.) As they approached the middle, they heard a roar from outside the restaurant. Pikachu, who had been hiding just behind a plant in the corner, jumped out and climbed onto Ash's shoulder.

May was confused. Ash looked at her. "I asked him to follow just in case this didn't go well." he said, and May looked a little hurt. "May, I didn't want to hurt you, so I didn't…" he trailed off. May nodded, understanding. "Alright, let's go check out what's happening." she said.

They ran outside, and they saw the Aggron from earlier had caught the Zigzagoon and was dangling it over the bridge. "Charizard!" Ash yelled. "Blaziken!" May followed, both throwing Poké Balls into the air. The two fire types popped out, and Ash and May pointed at the Aggron. "Charizard! Fire Punch!" Ash shouted. "Blaziken! Blaze Kick!" May yelled simultaneously. The two fire attacks hit the Aggron in the back, knocking it out and the Zigzagoon started to fall, but Ash ran forward , dove, and caught the Normal-type. The small creature ran to May, and she giggled.

The next day, Ash and May talked again, and Ash decided that he probably wouldn't be able to challenge all the gym leaders again, so they decided that the couple would attempt double contests, and Ash kept Charizard on his belt to use in conjunction with Blaziken, and May revealed that she had caught a Sandshrew, so Pikachu had a new friend. The two plotted a route for Slateport City, and, with a wave to the Maple family, the couple set out on their new journey.

As they walked through the Petalburg woods, Zigzagoon, who had decided to travel with May, popped out and chirped. "Zig! Zig!" it seemed happy, perched on May's shoulder, but May returned it to it's ball. Suddenly, they heard a growl. "Pooch! Yena!" they continued walking, and a Poochyena jumped out and attacked them. Ash stepped in front, and nodded to Pikachu. "Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" he yelled, and the electric mouse nodded. "Pika… CHU!" the bolt hit the small dog, when Ash noticed that it seemed to have not eaten in a while.

Walking up to it, Ash spoke softly. "Hey little buddy, do you need food?" he asked in a quiet voice. "Poochy…" the Dark-type whimpered, not wanting to accept charity. Ash wouldn't take no for an answer, and scooped up the Poochyena, rushing him to the Pokémon Center through the woods in Rustboro City.

After the Poochyena had been healed and fed, it was so grateful to Ash, that it practically caught itself. The pair continued on towards Slateport, and they were striking up awkward conversation. "So, May, I've been thinking, in Sinnoh, they have these capsules that you put around a Poké Ball, and these seals that create a special entrance for each Pokémon." Ash said, and May nodded. "Those were introduced to Hoenn a few years ago, but I don't have any." she said, crestfallen.

Ash put his arm around his girlfriend's shoulder. "Don't worry! We'll find some more soon enough!" he said, and the caramel-haired girl perked up. As they continued their conversation, they were discussing possible contest combinations. "I also think we'll need to invest in some new contest clothes, I don't the stuff that you wore seven years ago is still going to fit you." he said. May nodded. Once they arrived in Slateport, they swung by a clothing store. Ash picked out a yellow leather jacket with black trim and a fur-lined hood, black jeans with silver chains, red sneakers, and a metal bracelet.

May, on the other hand, picked out a long red coat, a white shirt, red shoes, and a golden necklace. Then, they stopped to grab capsules and seals. Ash picked out the lightning seal, the fire seal, and the smoke seal, for Pikachu, Charizard, and Poochyena, while May picked the fire seal, the sand seal, and the sparkle seal for Blaziken, Sandshrew, and Zigzagoon.

Once everything was all squared away, the pair prepared for their big double contest debut.

_**Hey guys! I know, another short chapter, but I really want to dedicate most of next chapter to the contest, so I cut this one just a tiny bit short. Sorry about that. Until next time. **_

_**This is SavageDischarge, shutting down**_


End file.
